The collaboration of the poet John Dryden and Henry Purcell marked a conspicuous leap forward for English opera. Their greatest project, King Arthur, is a five-act ‘dramatick opera’, the text of which had its origins in a patriotic musical play Dryden had written in 1684 but which he radically overhauled. The result was a work that appealed to the audience’s enthusiasm for fine costumes, lavish sets, ingenious stage machinery and a cast of singers, dancers and instrumentalists, containing vocal show-stoppers such as the imperishable Frost Scene and Fairest isle. This critically acclaimed staging uses a new performing edition by René Jacobs, and is sung in English with German dialogue.

King Arthur is considered to be one of Purcell’s greatest achievements and is the most successful collaboration the composer had with the English poet and playwright John Dryden. This critically acclaimed performance by the Berlin Staatsoper, sung in English with German dialogue, transports the story to wartime Britain with a new dramaturgy by Detlef Giese. For this production, the celebrated conductor René Jacobs has created a new performing edition of the score, and delivers a performance with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin that is both expressive and nuanced, creating a perfect balance between the soloists and the Choir of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden.

Bachtrack.com greatly admired the 2017 performance: ‘The singing cast – all of which played up to six parts each – were strong throughout. Soprano Anett Fritsch marvelled as Merlin’s trusty spirit Philidel and Cupido, her coloratura agile and light, her singing and speaking impressive both on stage and whilst airborne. Bass Johannes Weisser played a suitably repulsive Grimbald and convinced vocally in the Cold Genius’ staccato aria “What Ho”. Soprano Robin Johannsen and Altus Benno Schachtner delighted particularly during their touching love duet.’

The website added: ‘The real stars of the evening however do not appear on stage, but rather sit and stand in the elevated orchestra pit. Jacobs and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin performed with great feeling for dynamic nuance and phrase, their sound is expressive and varied, and throughout perfectly balanced against both soloists and choir.’

Stage directors: Sven-Eric Bechtolf and Julian Crouch

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: AC3 2.0 and AC3 5.1
Language: English, German
Subtitles: English, German, French, Japanese, Korean
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
No. of disc/s: 1 (DVD 9)